Plantation, School System May Join Forces On Community Center

PLANTATION — The city and the Broward County school system may build a $3.25 million community center next to Plantation Elementary - part of a growing trend to link schools with the community.

Schools can use the extra space for physical education classes or when classrooms get too crowded. Cities can provide more recreation programs and meeting space for the commmunity.

"When you can use a building from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 at night, it makes real good sense," said Ray de la Feuilliez, the school system's associate superintendent for facilities.

The center would house a gym, meeting rooms and labs. It could house programs for the elderly and youths, as well as adult evening and weekend classes. The gym could have a stage for student shows.

The school, at 301 NW 46th Ave., is in an area populated by young families who would benefit from a community center, Plantation Parks and Recreation Director Vaughn Black said.

The Rev. Bob Hylton, whose First Baptist Church of Plantation runs a children's camp for the city, said he and neighboring residents have pushed for a community center and more recreation programs.

"We need to have a focal point like this in our community," Hylton said. "There needs to be more of this collaborative effort between the schools and cities."

Mayor Frank Veltri said Plantation should spend no more than $500,000 on the project.

Both governments would share the cost, but how much each would pay is not known.

Veltri said he was surprised at the school district's cost estimate for the building.

"I can build half a city down there for $3.25 million," Veltri said. "If they expect us to pay half, they've blown us clean out of the ballpark because $1.6 million is too much."

Veltri said the City Council would conduct a special meeting to discuss where Plantation's share would come from. He said the city could issue bonds, a common way for governments to borrow money. The bonds are usually paid back over 30 years with interest.

Any proposal for the center must be approved by the City Council and the School Board before construction can begin.

If elected officials approve, Plantation would become the latest city to build such a project.

One of the first community/school centers to open in Broward was the Walter C. Young Human Resource Center in Pembroke Pines. The center opened in 1989. Today, that complex, on Pines Boulevard west of Flamingo Road, is considered a prototype.

At a cost of more than $20 million, the building features an auditorium and cafeteria that residents can use as a dinner theater and banquet hall.

Another community center will be built next to Hollywood Central Elementary, 1700 Monroe St. That $12 million building will have a 500-seat auditorium and an expanded library.

The proposed Plantation Elementary center is modeled after one next to Tamarac Elementary School, 7601 N. University Drive. The $1 million Tamarac center has a gym, five meeting rooms and a courtyard, Principal Bill Bell said.

Last year, students from crowded classrooms attended art, science and music courses in the adjacent community center.

Construction of Plantation's center could be several years away, said Roger Asper, the school system's facilities project manager. School officials said they may wait at least two years until an expansion at Plantation Elementary is finished.